What's all the Bla Bla about BlaBlaCar?

Upon moving to the French Alps, I soon realized that public transportation from Eastern to Western France was very limited. The TGV only went as far as Bellegarde, and the new affordable buses went to Chamonix, but not to Domancy. However, several of our AirBNB guests had highly recommended BlaBlaCar, so for our last-minute trip to Paris, we decided to check it out for ourselves. We had loved our car sharing experience in Boston with Zipcar, but this was different, as we were sharing a trip with unknown fellow travelers. The website was very straightforward, and I liked the fact you could indicate whether you were on the quiet side, i. e., only one Bla, or sometimes chatty, BlaBla, or loved conversations BlaBlaBla. I chose a woman, Catherine, and her daughter who were leaving from Annemasse, about 45 minutes from us by train. Within an hour of choosing her online, she accepted our request to take us to Paris and called me to confirm details. I could also see what kind of car she drove, how much luggage she allowed and see comments from other passengers. On arrival at Annemasse, I texted her that we were a bit early, in the hopes she would come earlier, but she was stuck in traffic, arriving exactly on time. We were driving in much more comfort than with our rattling Peugeot Partner; here we got to experience plush comfortable seats in her Peugeot 207, plenty of leg room and even snacks for the road, an unexpected bonus!

I took the front seat, and Pierre hopped in the back with Amelie, her 7-year old daughter. Children always loved Pierre, so they were soon chatting away about her DVD player and her games, which pleased Catherine. She was a teacher, so we immediately started discussing everything from politics to traveling to terrorism. Before we knew it, we were in Paris--Catherine even went as far as finding us the closest Metro station to our destination in The Bastille, a mere 15 minutes away! Catherine was very experienced with BlaBlaCar, so even helped us for the return trip. She recommended that we look for a ride close to a train station, that didn't leave during rush hour, and that was affordable. She even helped me choose the right trip home! The only regret I had was that we didn't pack up early enough and when she let us out quickly, Pierre lost his headphones in the rush. Live and learn so they say.

For the return trip, we were no longer BlaBlaCar virgins, so knew the routine. We found the pickup location at the Gare de Lyon with no difficulty, and found the driver easily. He was actually taking 3 BlaBlaCar passengers, so his trip was more or less free for him! He was a policeman, so was an excellent driver and loved to travel, a recurring theme we soon discovered. Pierre and I sat in the back of his red Volkswagen Golf and thankfully didn't have to partake in too much conversation, as we were exhausted from wandering around Paris for three days! The trip home was a bit longer, as he only took us to Annecy, where we then had to wait for a train before heading back to Domancy. Between BlaBlaCar and AirBNB, our trip to Paris was very affordable and a great way to meet new people.